Rolling Stones
by Tetzel
Summary: An evil dynasty attacks! Can the good guys save the world in time?


5: Rococo for Cuckoo Puffs

The next morning came no differently than the last had for the Army of Light. Jareck and Balthazar got the army into formation, and then organized some foraging parties for breakfast. For most of the day the troops would stand around idly, looking prepared to do anything but in reality doing nothing.

Nocitome arose later than the rest of the army and left his tent wearing a completely identical set of red robes (Unlike Duke Astley, Nocitome was not very fashion-savvy). The soldiers watched him without giving much care. To them, Nocitome was just another pompous leader who told them to do the things that they did. Neither Balthazar nor Jareck really cared about the squirrel's entrance as well.

"Huhlo, mah sahbjahcts!" Nocitome announced, mainly to the two other creatures in authority there. He approached his general and the royal flag bearer slowly and steadily. "I trust thaht ahll ahs well?"

"Yeah, sure, everything's fine," Jareck replied, twirling a corner of his red cape around lazily with one finger. Balthazar slowly nodded in agreement, glancing back over at the abbey. He hoped that nobeast over there would try anything stupid. He hoped even more that Putorius wouldn't do anything at all.

The only reason Balthazar was helping Putorius in the first place was not by any virtue of loyalty or honesty or anything like that. Balthazar knew he could easily fall into Nocitome and Astley's respective favors with some simple flattery, and retain his current occupation in the process. No, he was helping Putorius only because it looked like the easiest way to come out on top. Nocitome and Astley still had quite a bit left to do before they could become emperor or do whatever they were planning. They'd still have to combat Duke Serling and Duke Camus, the former of which was very popular with the people and could easily incite a rebellion against the usurpers. With Putorius, all he had to do was walk into the empire. It was the easiest thing in the world. It was almost one hundred percent guaranteed that they would make it there without even getting into a battle. At least, that was if Putorius didn't mess anything up.

But now, more and more, he was beginning to doubt that the suddenly passive emperor wouldn't do just that. Balthazar figured his chances had dropped to about eighty percent. That was still better than the roughly fifty percent he had figured Nocitome and Astley had, but it was still a tad unnerving. That meant a twenty percent chance that things would go bad and he'd be killed. That was one in five. If he were to do this same scenario five times, one of them he would die in.

It wasn't a pleasant thought. However, Balthazar realized he had yet to figure in the escort that Vance had promised him. Even though this guard was really only sent to make sure he didn't try to double back and rejoin the army, now with the emperor, Balthazar realized it actually worked in his favor as well, like some sort of bizarre symbiotic relationship. Now he would be guided back to the ship by creatures who knew the area and (hopefully) could fight as well, making very nice expendable shields in case they ever did run into trouble. Balthazar figured that raised his chances up to about ninety percent.

"…Anyways, this is what I propose. We blot out the sky with a giant mass of arrows that will rain down into the fort and kill everybeast inside!" Jareck suddenly shouted, bringing Balthazar out of his thoughts. The pine marten hadn't even realized that Nocitome's general had been speaking.

"We don't have that many archers or arrows," Balthazar muttered, not knowing the whole conversation but sure he had a very good gist of what it entailed. Ever since the conversation yesterday in which Nocitome had decided to wait out the enemy, Jareck had been proposing sometimes outrageous siege methods, including towers they didn't know how to build, tunnels they didn't know how to dig, and decoys they didn't know how to make. Now, it was the arrows they didn't know how to fire.

"He's-uh rahght, Jahruhck," Nocitome agreed, "Yah need tuh stop makahn ahmpossahble plahns. Ahll we need tuh do ahs-uh wait thahm out."

Jareck frowned and marched off. He, apparently, did not like the idea of sitting around doing nothing for what could be a month or so. Balthazar shrugged as if to say "What's his problem?" Nocitome chuckled and walked back off to his tent, leaving Balthazar alone.

--

General Jareck made his way quickly through the soldiers, his red cape sticking out amongst all the white armor like a beacon. It didn't matter, though; Balthazar still wouldn't be able to see him through all of the troops. The fox had only recently become Duke Nocitome's head general, and he wasn't very happy with how Balthazar was already usurping him. He had never liked the pine marten very much, but Balthazar had always only been an annoyance. Now he was actually a threat to Jareck's position, and that would never do. Luckily, though, Jareck had quite a few cards up his sleeve, and after a few days, Nocitome wouldn't even remember Balthazar's name.

Discreetly he nudged a squirrel on the shoulder as he walked by. The squirrel, whose sole weapon was a fancy-looking bow strapped to his back, silently turned and followed, unnoticed by all.

Jareck stopped when he had moved out of sight from anybeast in the army. The squirrel quickly stopped as well. "Okay, Jareck, I did what you asked. You said I only had to do that one thing and—"

"Well, that's changed," Jareck cut him off, "Remember, Claudius, we still have your family. The dealing isn't done until Duke Nocitome _says _it's done. Now, stop protesting and listen to your new assignment. It's another assassination."

"Please!" Claudius pleaded, "I already had to shoot the emperor, and now some other creature? Why can't you get some other archer to do the deed for you? Why does it have to be me?"

"Because we have your family," Jareck repeated, "You wouldn't want little Cassandra to have an unfortunate accident, would you?" The fox looked completely emotionless as he said this.

"No…" Claudius muttered quietly.

"Of course not. Although I don't see why you're so attached to your family; if my brother didn't give me so much money, I wouldn't care if he was eaten by crows." Jareck shrugged casually. "Anyways, this time it should be easier. All you have to kill is that annoying Balthazar."

Claudius was silent; Jareck was right. He had much less qualms about firing an arrow at Balthazar than he did when he had been forced to kill Emperor Putorius II. Claudius, like almost all of the soldiers, found the sycophant to be very unlikable.

"Good, it doesn't seem like this will be a problem," Jareck remarked, "Now, wait until night. I won't be able to get Balthazar into a fight like I was able to with Putorius, so we're going to have to be a bit crafty this time. Don't worry, though; craftiness runs in my family. I'm thinking we'll wait until night, when everybeast is asleep except Balthazar and the sentries. Then… I'm thinking we'll lure Balthazar into the forest. Leave that part to me. Once he's in the forest, all alone, you'll snuff his life out like a light. I'll blame it on night demons or something like that. Did you get all of that, or do I need to repeat myself?"

"No, I get it. After this, though, will you let my family go?" Claudius asked hopefully.

"Depends on if I need anybeast else killed or not. Remember what I said about thirty seconds ago? You know, how the dealing isn't done until Nocitome says it's done? That still applies, even after all this time has past. Now, get out of here, before somebeast notices that we were missing."

Jareck brushed past the squirrel quickly. Claudius hesitated, then turned and followed. If only they didn't have his family… Then he'd show that stupid fox who was really in charge…

In all actuality, Duke Nocitome didn't have Claudius' family. That was because they were already dead, just like Claudius would be too when the dealing was all done.

--

Izca woke up again, this time even angrier than before. He couldn't remember anything, and all he knew was that he was really angry. He realized instantly that he was in a very fancy cart, obviously owned by Astley. Only he would actually pay for something like that. Sitting opposite him was Bertram, who looked as if he were in deep thought. Serling, Zonday, and Astley were also inside.

"Oh, look, he's waking up," Bertram announced. Izca was upon him in a flash. The stoat would have been dead if Izca still had his knives on him; but luckily, Serling had never bothered to retrieve them after they were all flung at the retreating Saar. So instead of stabbing Bertram in numerous places, Izca had to resort to throttling him.

Serling and Zonday leapt up in a flash. They pulled Izca off of Bertram before he had a chance to do any damage. The stoat scattered away from Izca in fear. Astley had noticeably remained seated, however. His facial expression didn't even seem to change in the slightest.

"Did you see that?" Bertram exclaimed, "He almost _killed _me! What would've happened if I were to die right there! You're plans would have been ruined without your strong right paw to assist you, Astley! It's a good thing Zonday and Serling here had their wits about them!"

"You flatter yourself way too much," Astley said simply. Bertram frowned and sat back down. The fox turned to Izca, who was still being restrained by the two other dukes, both of whom seemed to be having a difficult time stopping the weasel from going ballistic on them all, "Hmm. It looks like you've had just a bit _too _much to drink. However, those feelings are good… Just, save them for Duke Nocitome, yes? Do you think you can do that, Izca?"

"Ha," the weasel snapped back.

"Serling, I think your little potion devolved him into a mindless lunatic," Astley pointed out, frowning at the mongoose, "How are we supposed to incorporate him into our plans now? If I put him on a ship, he would slaughter the crew!"

"The effects are merely temporary, Duke Astley," Serling explained as he struggled with the fighting Izca, "After a day or so, the effects of the drug will wear off. I am inclined to believe that the double dose that I believe I suggested I not give him actually amplified the repressed feelings of anger in his mind, thus turning him into what we see here: An uncontrollable psychopath. This is actually very intriguing data; if I could produce an army that feeds off of this drug, they would be unstoppable in battle, replicating the berserk rage that overcomes badgers."

"But when you get a badger to go berserk, it kills everything in sight, even allies," Zonday muttered, "We shouldn't tamper with a creature's mind. It could have serious repercussions."

"That's why we had to lock up all the badgers in the first place, Serling," Bertram interjected, motioning towards the chained-up badger that was pulling the cart along, "Really, though, I said we shouldn't try something so complicated, we should go for an arrest, but all you do is give me is the same old stupid speech about how you need to make all the decisions. Well, maybe if you listened to me for once…"

"Nothing is wrong with my plan, Bertram," Astley snapped, "So shut up before I let them turn Izca on you again. You need to remember that you are the expendable one here. If you die, it really will not matter in the scheme of things. The same goes to you, Zonday. I really don't need you all that much. Serling's the only important one here. Now, will you all shut up, sit down, and make sure that… thing doesn't get anywhere near me?"

Serling and Zonday wrested the crazed weasel back down to the seat. Izca had stopped struggling, but the fury still burned in his eyes, completely unmistakable. It unnerved Bertram immensely, and the stoat scooted out of Izca's sight.

Astley then turned to the chained badger pulling the cart. "Rolf, would you please hurry it up? There's a dangerous fugitive that needs to be accosted, and every second he runs free is another second justice is not being dealt."

The badger grunted and quickened his pace. He had never learned to speak; Duke Astley had never allowed it. He had, however, learned never to disobey his master's orders. Even though there wasn't some gluttonous slave master with a whip here to lash his back, Astley wasn't one who was quick to forget insubordination. Or at least anything he considered insubordination, which ranged from not salting his meal correctly to forgetting to clean the fifth guest bedroom closet's secret compartment hidden on the ceiling. And those he deemed were insubordinate generally tended to be whipped a great deal by the Chief of the Patrol Guard (who also happened to be Astley's most trusted personal general), a weasel named Fitzpatrick.

Serling waited a while, and then said, "Perhaps Duke Wellenkamp is correct. These drugs I have concocted are highly experimental, and I have some suspicions that the ingredients were tampered with during their journey here from my homeland. You have gotten this far by being rational and simple, Duke Astley. You already have great evidence to show that Duke Nocitome is guilty of conspiracy of homicide; evidence that, while faulty, will likely not be questioned by Sir Fitzpatrick, especially considering that you are his employer."

"Why are we just saying everything in front of him?!" Astley demanded, pointing at Izca, "Do you know how stupid it is to just go talking about very confidential things like that?! Serling, I would have hoped that you would have more sense than that! Now, you and Bertram just shut up right now or I'll throw you both out of this cart myself!"

"But then who will stop Izca from getting to you?" Bertram asked. His question went completely ignored.

"Duke Astley, I greatly understand your concerns as of now," Serling announced, "I too sometimes question my subordinates' ability to hold a secret. Several times I have been afraid that news of my Chief Captain has been announced to the peasantry, which would not be pleasant. However, I am quite certain that Izca is in a state of mental stupor right now, unable to feel any feeling but that of anger, and even that feeling is slowly diminishing. Therefore, I am very positive that we can speak freely here."

"It doesn't matter either way," Zonday muttered, even though his deep voice kind of made it hard to do that, "We're nearing the dock."

"Excellent," Astley exclaimed, "Once we get there, I'll have a crew make sure Izca is properly contained. Now, son of Ivory, you are going to be going on a little voyage with me."

"I know there isn't much chance of you saying yes, but could I please go?" asked Bertram.

"Oh, shut up. There isn't really even much need for me to go, but I feel a need to personally make sure Izca is secured until we reach Nocitome. You three can go back to the capital or return to your territories, I really don't care. I don't have much use for you any more."

"Wait, that's it?" exclaimed Bertram, "I didn't get to do anything!"

"I know," Astley snapped, "That's why I find that I'm being very, very generous by letting you in on this. Keep in mind, I only had you join my little espionage here because I felt it would be more intimidating if I had over half of the dukes on my side. That and because your father did a lot of favors for me. Too bad you're nothing like him, though. By the way, that's the reason I don't call you Duke Wellenkamp. You obviously don't deserve the title, not after all your father did."

"That's only because you won't let me do anything!" Bertram pleaded, "If you actually gave me a task, I could show you just how competent I am!"

"I already have," muttered Astley, "Remember those slaves I needed you to hold for me while Camus sent a crew to inspect my manor? How two of them actually escaped from your dungeon and made it half way to the City of Light before Fitzpatrick intercepted and killed them? That was way too close for comfort. And I still have no clue how two slaves could have possibly escaped. They were chained up in a locked prison!"

"Look, that wasn't really my fault…" Bertram said quietly. But Astley wasn't going to listen to excuses. He motioned towards Rolf the badger to stop the cart as it wheeled into the port, which was strictly military; no merchant vessels allowed.

On Astley's orders, Izca was quickly tied up, with the weasel not giving much of a fight. Instead, he seemed as if he were suspended in some sort of dream world. As he was escorted away by an armed guard to a ship, Serling attempted to study the peculiar behavior, hoping to add to his research.

"Okay, I'm going to try and get these idiots to set sail quickly," Astley said to the other three dukes, "I don't want Camus catching wind of this. Remember, if he asks, I'm simply suffering from Influenza. Of course, it is doubtful that doddering fool will even notice my absence."

"Uh, hey, what if he tries to arrest Nocitome himself?" Bertram asked.

"Ha! Camus only points fingers, he doesn't actually do anything. I wish you would become more experienced in the ways of politics," Astley remarked as he elegantly left the cart. The dock was very small, with Astley's ship being one of only a handful. It was really just a restocking harbor that had been crucial in a few wars in the past, but now saw very little use. Astley had picked this particular port for that very reason; it made it less likely that he would be spotted by one of Camus' underlings.

A lanky ferret dressed in a spotless set of orange armor- Astley's color of choice- approached the duke. He saluted smartly, then made a report. "Your Duke-ness, the ship was completely prepared and ready and hour prior to your arrival, just as you requested. There was no sight of anybeast who may have been watching us. All we need to do is get you and Ivory's son on board and we'll be ready to depart."

"Excellent, Captain Marlon," Astley exclaimed, "That is exactly the kind of news I wanted to hear. It's always refreshing to know that even if my childish co-conspirators cannot stick to a plan, my soldiers can. Now, I do not wish to dally, as you would imagine. Let us go."

"Yes, sir," Marlon replied, "Although there is one more thing. Morrissey was here. He simply sat around and rested for a while, then took off back the way he came. Is this, um, to be expected?"

Astley gave a paw motion to Rolf. The badger suddenly began to pull the cart again, turning around and going back the way he came. The three other dukes all sat silently as the rode past the fox, who had already begun to walk towards the ship, with Captain Marlon following close behind.

"Yes, Captain Marlon," Astley replied, "Morrissey was already instructed that Duke Ivory would be dead by the time he got here, so he already knew the message he would need to convey back to Duke Nocitome. However, his laziness unnerves me. All he had to do was fly a short distance to my manor, just to be sure that the plan had not gone awry. Imagine if Ivory's assassination had failed?"

"I assume it would not be very good for us, sir," Marlon replied monotonously. The ferret had gotten very far by simply nodded his head and saying "Yes, sir", and that wasn't going to change anytime in the near future, even though he was usually an advocate for those generally slandered. Marlon easily could have pointed out how Morrissey had to fly immense lengths over oceans and forests in hostile territory, completely undefended. But, of course, he didn't.

"Of course it wouldn't. But, of course, Morrissey never thought of that. All he ever does is cut corners. I'm afraid that one day that robin will cut in a bit too deep and leave us out to dry. However, it will not happen during this scheme, as he is no longer needed, other than to make the confirmation that Putorius is dead, which isn't particularly necessary. A giant eagle could eat him right now, really, and it would just save me a lot of money. That robin's prices are quite high, even by my standards."

"Yes, sir, I would imagine so," Marlon said, helping Astley onto the ship, which was nothing particularly special as far as ships went. Astley would have preferred his luxury yacht cruiser, but it wasn't built to sail the rough seas and it went ploddingly slow, which wouldn't do at all.

"Well, it just makes me elated to say that this whole little plan is coming to a denouement. It was executed nearly flawlessly, and only a few minor details remain. Once I am emperor, Captain Marlon, I may just promote you to Captain of the Fleet, replacing that dreadful Emile. A mercenary _and _a female? Being a foreign, money-loving savage is bad enough, but everybeast knows that females should be left to taking care of the homestead. They just can't hold up in a battle against males. Don't you agree, Captain Marlon?"

Captain Marlon didn't really have an opinion on the matter, but he said, "Of course, sir," all the same. Astley was then led to his quarters belowdecks and the voyage went underway.

--

Claudius the archer and General Jareck were going over the plan one more time. It was night, and as usual, everybeast was asleep except for Balthazar and a handful of sentries. Despite this, however, Jareck had decided that it was necessary for them to discuss their plans in the forest, just to be cautious.

"Now, climb up into that tree," Jareck ordered, "That way, when I lead Balthazar down this way, he won't be able to see you immediately and you'll have more time to take a good shot. Remember, if you hit me instead of him, accident or not, your family is history. You got that?"

"Yes, Jareck," Claudius murmured as he began to climb up the tree that Jareck had indicated.

"Good, good. Try to cover yourself with leaves or something. Be camouflaged. Yeah, that's good. Err… No, your armor is too shiny. Go up a branch or two higher. Okay, _that's_ good." Jareck gave directions and instructions to the somber Claudius as if he were directing a play, not an assassination.

After a lot of climbing up and down, Claudius muttered, "Is this okay?"

Jareck paused, scrutinizing every detail of the squirrel's hiding place. He was completely obscured by leaves and branches… Well, almost. "Move your tail over a bit. Okay, now it's good. Don't move from that spot at all, it's perfect. Balthazar will never see this coming. Now, I'm leaving, don't do anything stupid while I'm gone."

Claudius didn't reply as the fox marched off. Jareck hadn't really elaborated on his side of the plan, but the squirrel didn't really care. One day, though, Claudius would like to take a shot at General Jareck, Duke Nocitome, and all of their cronies. He could be like a hero in the epics that all those classical philosophes were blabbing on about, saving his family and defeating the evil villains. But, of course, that was impossible. You couldn't beat the system here.

Meanwhile, General Jareck was swiftly making his way back to the camp. Once Balthazar was dead, he could easily get Nocitome to try an assault on the red fort. It wasn't critically important that they conquer it, but Jareck was restless. He didn't like this sitting around and waiting. And plus, once he conquered it, he was sure that he could convince Nocitome, who seemed to have no interest in the place, to let him have it as his own personal manor.

Jareck walked into camp. Immediately he realized that Balthazar was not there, as he was usually quickly spotted due to the large flag he carried around with him. Jareck scoured the area for a few minutes before deciding that, for some reason, the pine marten had left. Frustrated, he turned to one of the sentries, a blasé otter.

"Vander, did you see Balthazar go anywhere?" Jareck asked.

Vander shrugged, his indifferent expression not leaving his face. "Why should I waste my time watching him? I've got better things to do, like… reflect."

"Reflect." Jareck repeated the word with a hint of annoyance.

"Yes, reflect. If they're going to make me a guard, I might as well use my time doing something useful. So, I reflect upon my life. It's philosophical," Vander explained emotionlessly, as if the topic was very common knowledge.

"Okay, now, time for you to do something useful. See if you can pick up Balthazar's tracks. He can't be too far, and I need to speak to him. It's urgent," Jareck explained. The otter sighed and began to walk around, looking at the ground for some sort of trail Balthazar might have left. It didn't take him long to find something.

"Wow," Vander said blandly, "Balthazar left a trail a one-eyed bat could follow. He used his flag like a walking stick. See that? Every time he took a step, he left a small round hole in the ground. I'm sure that you can follow this without my help, right? Or are you really that incompetent at tracking?"

Jareck glared at his disrespectful subordinate. "Get back to your reflecting, you idiot. I don't want you around anyways. And of course I can follow this trail." Jareck began marching off, closely watching the pathway of small indentations in the soil. Vander shrugged and meandered back to the spot he had been guarding.

--

In Redwall Abbey, the Champion Vance had assembled a team that would assist him in escorting Emperor Putorius II to the Empire of Light, and more importantly, make sure Balthazar wasn't just trying to trick them. It had been hard to convince the abbey that he should go, but after a lot of debate and discussion, he had finally been able to get them to listen to him and help him prepare for his journey.

He had picked very trustworthy and reliable creatures to help him, but he had left those with leadership capabilities, like the Skipper of Otters, to make sure there was still some semblance of order in the abbey. Vance honestly wasn't sure if Abbot Verrill was fit to lead. The one-armed otter would much rather charge the enemy in a suicide attack, despite his best efforts to prove otherwise. Maybe he had been able to convince the other abbeybeasts, and thus he had become the Abbot, but Vance had known Verrill for a long time and knew that he wasn't one to change so easily.

Most of the abbey was awake, even at such a late hour. Many did not need to be, but all wanted to give their goodbyes to Vance and his friends before they departed. They milled about just inside the walls, waiting for Balthazar to show up. Many had gone to the back wall just to watch for him. Down below was Vance and the others leaving with him, along with Abbot Verrill and a disappointed-looking Brother Archibald. The messenger mouse had desperately attempted to persuade Vance into letting him go on the quest with him, but the warrior squirrel had to decline. Brother Archibald just wasn't fit enough to go through such rugged country and he had no fighting skills whatsoever. He'd just be dead weight.

"Here he is," shouted down the Skipper of Otters from the top of the wall. Vance motioned for the small gate to be opened.

Balthazar walked into the abbey, still holding the flag. Vance had given up trying to figure out why the pine marten would continue to haul that thing around; it must be dreadfully heavy.

"Let's try to get out of here quickly, okay?" Balthazar snapped, "There's no reason to linger around. Nocitome shouldn't find out I'm gone until tomorrow, but you never know. Better safe than sorry or however it goes. Where's Putorius?"

"Moping around somewhere," Vance replied, "We found that we no longer needed to tie him up; all he does is snivel about how useless everything is. Do you think you know how to fix that?"

"I'll try to talk to him, but later. Go get him and let's leave," Balthazar looked around impatiently. At that instant Putorius meandered by listlessly, a sunken expression in his eyes.

"Well, there he is. Now, I'll just introduce you to the others that will be aiding us. There's my wife, Glade, and—"

"Later, please," Balthazar snapped, "Morrissey is due to return in only a few days. It's a good walk back to the ships. If we're too slow, Nocitome can get to them before we do. Ugh… I'll explain later. Just, can we please leave?" The pine marten tapped Putorius on the shoulder, as the polecat hadn't even seemed to acknowledge his presence. Putorius turned, shrugged, and moped some more.

Vance was annoyed by Balthazar's rudeness, but he kept his calm. "Fine, then. We'll leave with haste. Farewell, friends!" Vance gave a slight wave to the rest of the abbeybeasts.

"Goodbye, Vance!!"

"Come back alive, y'hear me?!"

"Good luck!!"

"Oh, please. Could you get them to shut up?" Balthazar snapped, "They'll wake up the whole army out there. Seriously, what don't you get about a quiet, stealthy departure?" Instantly, a deathly silence fell over the abbey.

Balthazar, uncaring, went back for the exit, motioning for Vance and the others to follow. Thoroughly angered by the pine marten's bluntly rude nature, they complied reluctantly, with the Champion leading them. Putorius shrugged, muttered "Whatever", and followed in the back slowly.

The party left the abbey with nobeast uttering a single word. After they had all left, Abbot Verrill ordered for the small gate to be shut. The doors slammed closed, creating a reverberating echo in the soundless night. After that, silence reigned once more for a good while.

Eventually, the quiet was broken by the Cellarhog, a jolly fellow named Thad Sharpe. "Anybeast up for some fresh October Ale?"

--

Jareck found himself in a dilemma. He was a bit shocked to see Putorius still alive, but he was more worried about the possible problems it caused. While he now actually had a good reason to actually kill Balthazar, he still couldn't even get the soldiers to try and wipe him out because he would no doubt use the emperor like some sort of playing card. And Jareck couldn't fight them himself; there were too many. Balthazar and Putorius by themselves would have been a match for the fox, but there was also a myriad of warriors from the red fort assisting them.

Then, he suddenly got an idea. Quietly slipping away from his hiding spot amidst the bushes, undetected by the creatures leaving Redwall, he stole his way back through the forest. Avoiding the not-so-watchful eyes of the sentries (Jareck wondered if they all shared Vander's hobby of reflection), he stealthily snuck past the camp. He traversed a small amount of woodlands, until he finally arrived back on the spot where Claudius was concealed in a tree.

"Get down from there, now!" Jareck snapped. Claudius, who had taken a great deal of time to get concealed, hid his dissatisfaction as he climbed down, causing the leaves and sticks he had covered himself with to fall in a large heap.

The squirrel archer leapt from the lowest branch and landed effortlessly. "Where's Balthazar?" he asked, a bit somber.

Jareck suddenly hit Claudius in the head with the side of his poleax. "Putorius isn't dead, you idiot! How did you manage that?!"

The squirrel rubbed the bump. "I hit him, just like you said! You saw it, too! You were right there next to me! I don't know how he's still alive! Ouch!" He was hit again by the poleax.

"You did this on purpose, didn't you?" Jareck snapped, "You didn't hit him right or something! You thought you could be sneaky, didn't you?! Well, you were wrong! And now, you and your family are dead!" He struck Claudius a third time.

"No!" the archer pleaded, his paws to his head, "I don't know how he's still alive! Honestly! You have to give me a second chance! Please, don't hurt my family! I'm begging you! I'll go and kill both of them, Putorius _and _Balthazar!"

Jareck stopped hitting Claudius and smiled. This had been the desired effect. "Okay, then. One last chance. You're going to go and kill the emperor, Balthazar, and the others that are traveling with them, from the red fort. And this time, you're going to check the bodies yourself to make sure all of them are dead. You got that?"

"Yes, of course, Jareck!" Claudius exclaimed, "I'll make sure they're all dead, just don't hurt my family!"

"Good! Now, they left from the red fort and started heading west, towards the sea. I'm pretty sure they're going to try and make it for Emile and her crew, then sail back to the empire. You think you can pick up their trail and follow it?"

Claudius nodded vigorously. "I'll do anything!"

"That's the response I wanted to hear," Jareck replied, "But, of course, how can I trust that you will not just claim you killed them? If that were the case, I wouldn't find out until they got back to the empire, and then it'd be too late for me."

"Because then it'd also be too late for my family…?" Claudius asked, hopeful. He didn't want Jareck to have to tag along and give him orders all the time. He didn't know if he'd be able to restrain his anger.

"Psh," Jareck snorted, listlessly swiping at a low-hanging branch with his poleax, "I just don't feel comfortable leaving you with so much power unattended. Of course, I cannot go with you; Nocitome would surely miss my presence. If only there was some other creature, one who isn't particularly important, decently loyal, and indifferent to whether he kills the emperor or not…"

Jareck's voice trailed off. He had the perfect creature for the job in mind. Claudius watched the fox nervously.


End file.
